


Shadow Fall

by MutatedSoup



Category: Warriors - Erin Hunter
Genre: RiverClan (Warriors), ShadowClan (Warriors), ThunderClan (Warriors), WindClan (Warriors)
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-01-09
Updated: 2020-01-09
Packaged: 2021-02-27 12:55:10
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,676
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22187443
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/MutatedSoup/pseuds/MutatedSoup
Summary: For many moons before Firestar, the four clans lived in the forest. A young Shadowclan apprentice tries to make her way in the world, but cats are disappearing - kits stolen in the night, warriors vanishing without a trace.
Kudos: 1





	Shadow Fall

Newtpaw breathed in the familiar scents of the Shadowclan camp. It was early morning and the dew lay heavy on the brambles surrounding the apprentice den. She stepped out into the clearing and stretched, enjoying the relief on her aching muscles. Yesterday had marked the start of her seventh moon as an apprentice and as if to celebrate, her mentor Ravenfeather had intensified her training. Today would be another tough day. With a sigh, Newtpaw padded through the near silent camp to the fresh kill pile. Very few cats were awake this early, when dawn had barely graced the sky. She pulled a vole from the pile, glancing through the camp towards the thorny warriors den for any sight of movement. Perhaps Ravenfeather wasn’t awake yet, and she could have her breakfast in peace…

“Newtpaw!” The tabby apprentice sprung to her feet, half the vole still dangling from her teeth. “A warrior doesn’t have time for leisure, they must always be on their guard,” a rough voice hissed behind her. “And you let me sneak up on you! Do you really think you will be a warrior soon?”

Newtpaw turned to face the sneering black tom behind her. Ravenfeather was an imposing figure of lean muscle and glinting amber eyes, but he held no fear for her. Not anymore, at least.

“A warrior must be strong, too,” she retorted, dropping the half-eaten vole between her paws. “And to be strong, we have to eat.” with that, she lowered her head to finish the meal with a few quick bites. As she was reaching for the last morsel, a paw smacked against her side and struck her to the floor.

“You need to learn more respect, Newtpaw,” Ravenfeather glowered. “Now hurry up, you’ve wasted enough time already.” He turned and padded towards the small bath through the brambles which marked the entrance to the camp.

Newtpaw turned for a moment towards the apprentice’s den, but sighed when she could see no movement. Ravenfeather was working her so hard that it had been days since she had spent time with her closest friend, Ratpaw. 

_A warrior must be dedicated to their clan above all else._ Another of Ravenfeather’s mantras echoed through Newtpaw’s mind. _To defend their clan, a warrior must be strong._

There would be time to see Ratpaw later, she hoped. For now there was nothing else she could do except follow her mentor out of the camp and face the training that lay ahead.

***  
  


It was near duskfall by the time Newtpaw stumbled back into the camp. Leaf-fall was upon them and the days were getting shorter, but being out from dawn until dusk was still exhausting. She headed straight for the apprentice’s den, barely taking time to acknowledge the friendly greetings of the other clan cats as she passed. With a satisfied sigh she sunk into the moss bedding of her nest. She rested her head on her paws, eager for a nap...

“Newtpaw, Newtpaw!” a call came as a small, fluffy grey cat barreled into the den. His fur stuck out in all directions like a messy hairball. No matter how much Ratpaw groomed, his fur always looked as if he had been dragged through the bramble patch backwards.

“Nice to see you too, Ratpaw,” Newtpaw purred. The small tom was barely a moon younger than her and yet he seemed full of the boundless excitable energy of a kit at all times. “Was your training good today?”

“Oh, yes,” Ratpaw slumped into the next to her. “Shattertail was teaching me to hunt with my eyes closed so that if i’m ever blinded by a monster on the thunderpath, I’ll still catch my prey.” He purred with self satisfaction, then leaned over and started grooming Newtpaw’s ears. “Was Ravenfeather working you to the bone again?” he asked.

Newtpaw thought back over the long day of relentless battle training; of Ravenfeather constantly catching her off guard; of being swiped away at every strike she attempted; of being berated for her slow reactions and poor co-ordination. 

“Something like that, yes.” Newtpaw glared at her paws, frustration burning away her exhaustion. “He never lets me play to my strengths, he’s always pushing me too hard!” she hissed.

Ratpaw licked her cheek affectionately. “He just wants to make sure you’re the best you can be.” He purred gently. “For the clan.”

 _For the clan._ Be this for the clan, do that for the clan… Newtpaw wanted to, she really did. But it felt like she was constantly being held back.

“Besides,” Ratpaw continued, “You are the strongest apprentice around! Look at all of this!” He playfully batted at Newtpaw’s well muscled hindlegs.

“It only counts if I can get close enough to attack.” Newtpaw lamented, but Ratpaw’s playful teasing brightened her mood. She reached up to swat at his head and managed to cuff one of his ears before he ducked. 

“See! You’re not so bad, you’re really starting to -” Ratpaw cut off as a shadow darkened the den entrance. The pair turned, looking up into the face of a slender silver tabby. “Snowstar!” The two apprentices dipped their heads respectfully.

Snowstar flicked her tail with amusement, her eyes flicking between them. “Ratpaw. Newtpaw. Rest while you can; you will be accompanying the clan to the gathering tonight.” Though her slight form looked gentle and graceful, the clan leader’s strong voice betrayed the power that she held.

Looking up, Newtpaw’s golden gaze met with the clan leader’s green eyes. “Yes Snowstar.”

The silver clan leader turned and left. Newtpaw and Ratpaw exchanged excited glances. Newtpaw had been to a gathering only once, when she had first started her training. Ratpaw had been a couple of times, but they had never gone together. 

“This is going to be brilliant!” Newtpaw mewed, her previous anger forgotten as she rubbed her cheek against her friend. Ratpaw nodded in agreement, his eyes shining. 

The pair settled down side by side in their nests to get some sleep before the moon started to rise.

***

“It is my sad duty to report that one of our warriors, Ivyscratch, was taken by a fox this moon.” Newtpaw gazed up at the formidable form of Cloverstar, the Thunderclan leader, as she spoke from the Great Rock. “The fox trail led towards Riverclan territory. Dewstar, I advise you to stay alert.” The large grey cat turned towards the smaller grey-and-white patched cat beside her. Dewstar dipped her head slightly in acknowledgement. 

“There has been trouble in Riverclan too,” Dewstar meowed. “A few nights ago a group of cats raided our clan. They appeared,” she paused and glanced over to Snowstar, before continuing, “to come from Shadowclan territory.”

Ignoring the uneasy muttering that had started in the cats below, Snowstar calmly replied, “We have sent no cats into Riverclan territory. It must have been a group of rogues.” She flicked her tail dismissively, locking gazes with Dewstar. “Unless you are implying otherwise?”

A crackle seemed to pass over the gathered cats as tension built in the air.

Dewstar hesitated for only a moment before replying, “No. Of course, they must not have been clan cats,” Newtpaw breathed a small sigh of relief as the tension ebbed away. “I merely wondered if you had any reports of strange cats passing through your territory. We should like to find these rogues and… settle matters… with any cats responsible.”

Snowstar shook her head. “There have been no rogues in our territory recently.”

Newtpaw’s ears flicked, a noise behind her catching her attention. Up on the Great Rock the clan leaders continued to exchange news of clan affairs, but her interest was suddenly caught by a quiet conversation between two cats just behind her. From the way Ratpaw’s ears twisted back, she knew he was listening too.

“There was a raid on our camp just before I left the nursery,” a young Windclan apprentice was whispering to her companion, “Do you remember?”

“Of course I do,” the other cat, also of Windclan whispered back. “Did you hear Owlpaw earlier? That mouse-brained fool was telling anyone who would listen about how he tried to defend the Riverclan queens, but that three kits were stolen anyway!”

There was a pause, before the first cat slowly replied “It wasn’t just a raid? Riverclan lost kits too? But the same thing happened to Wind-”

The second cat hissed, cutting her off. “Be quiet! You never know who might be listening. We must keep our clan secrets to ourselves, no one needs to know of Windclan’s loss.”

The conversation trailed off as the leaders rose and leapt off the Great Rock. The gathering was over.

Newtpaw glanced over her shoulder, curious to see the faces of the gossiping Windclan cats. The smaller apprentice had already started to pad away, but Newtpaw found her gaze locked in by the second cat, a young golden coloured she-cat. The Windclan cat glared for a moment at Newtpaw, before turning away. Newtpaw shivered slightly and got to her paws. That glare had felt like it pierced her entire body. 

The Shadowclan cats began to gather around Snowstar, stretching as they prepared for the journey home. Newtpaw glanced over at Ratpaw. Her friend looked anxious; he must have overheard everything too. Snowstar gave the signal, and the group left the hollow and started racing back towards Shadowclan territory.

Ratpaw kept pace with Newtpaw as they ran. Quietly he murmured, “Do you think kits have gone missing from Thunderclan too?”

“I don’t know,” Newtpaw replied, her paws thudding against the earth. “But Dewstar seemed ready to place the blame on us.” 

Suddenly, a thought occurred to her. If kits had gone missing from other clans, what was to stop a raid on Shadowclan? With so many warriors out at the gathering, the camp would have been an easy target!

She pushed herself to pick up the pace, muscles screaming with the effort, desperate to get back to the camp. Only then would they know for sure just what troubled the night had brought.


End file.
